WASHINGTON, D.C., December 27, 2013 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a credit of US$150 million to improve living standards for the local poor people in upland districts of the central highlands of Vietnam.

The credit will go to the Central Highlands Poverty Reduction Project, which will target the 26 poorest districts in the provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai. The Project aims to enhance livelihoods opportunities for the poor in these districts, most of whom are from various ethnic minority groups.

Although Vietnam has achieved remarkable poverty reduction results over the past two decades, recent evidence suggests that overall progress in further reducing poverty has slowed and that there is a large and growing gap between some of the poorest households and the better off. There is also a persistent gap among different regions of the country, and well as between households living in urban and rural areas. The Central Highlands region of Vietnam presents some specific challenges in terms of the overall welfare of the population and in particular among ethnic minority groups. The newly approved project aims to support the Government of Vietnam in addressing extreme poverty in this second-poorest region of the country.

The Project has four components: village and commune infrastructure development; sustainable livelihoods development; connective infrastructure development, capacity building and communications; and project management.

The US$150 million credit comes from the International Development Association, the World Bank Group’s funding source for low-countries on blend terms, with maturity of 25 years, including a five-year grace period.